Automatic stop for railways.



No. fzsgms.' PATBNTBDSEPT.22,1903. z. L. TRAINHAM @E H. E. EASTMAN.

AUTOMATIC Safor PoR RAIL-WAYS.

PPLIGATIONI'ILED APB. 16. 1903.

ET s171551 l,

N0-.739,748.. 'PATENTE SEPT. 22,1903.

z. L. TRAINHAM at. H. E. EASTMAN.

AUTOMATI STOP FOR RAILWAYS.

PPLwA'rIoN FILED un. 1a, 190s.

:Rs co.. Pesaro-umu.. wAsHmamN. n 1:,A

UNITED STATES IP'atented September 22, 1903'.V

PATENT OEEIQE.

ZACHARIAH L. TRAIN HAM AND HARRY EASTMAN, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

AUTOMATIC STOP yFOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,748, dated September 22, 1903.

Application neavAprn 1e, 190s.

To all' whom, it 17m/y 00u/cern:

Be it known that we, ZACHARIAH L. TRAIN- HAM and HARRY E. Eastman, citizens of the United States, residing'at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Stops for Railways, of which the following is a specication. i

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic stops for railways; and its object is to provide mechanism by means of which a train maybe brought to a stop automatically should a switch in advance thereof be open. Y

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in arranging a drum adjacent to the switch and adapted to be operated thereby. Cables are arranged upon the drum, and when the switch is opened these cables are wound upon the drum and serve to operate a plunger which is thrown into the path of the stem of a valve arranged upon the air-brake mechanism of a locomotive. When the said locomotive approaches this plunger, the stem `of the valve referred to is brought into contact therewith and thrown outof normal position, thereby causing the air-brakes to be applied andbrnging the engine to a stop before the switch is reached.

The invention also consists in the further novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter more f nlly described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form of our invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of a railway-switch and showing the drum and its connections, the casing of the drum being shown in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the plunger and its throwing mechanism, the casing thereof being shown'in section. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4, Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a detail View of a valve and its stem adapted to be located upon an air-brake apparatus of a locomotive.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 1 are switch-tongues, so connected to an operating-bar 2 as to move in unison. This bar is attached in any suitable manner to the crank 3 of a revoluble rod 4, having a serial Nol-152,974. or@ man weight-ed arm 5 extending laterally therefrom. This rod and arm are similar to those ordinarily employed for throwing switches. Located'adjacent to the switch-operating mechanism Vis a suitable casing A6, having a hinged cover 7. A vertical shaft 8 is arranged withn the center of this casing, and mounted thereon is a gear 9, which meshes with a rack 10, formed at one end of a bar 11, which is slidably mounted within the casing 6 and extends therefrom. This bar projects where they project into a casing 16 and around pulleys 17 to the outer ends of levers 18.

These levers are fulcrumed at points adjacent to their centers, and their inner or adjacent ends are toothed, as shown at '19, and mesh with racks 20, formed at opposite sides of a plunger 21. This plungeris mounted between guides 22, located in the casing, and

has arms/23 extending laterally therefrom.

Springs 24 are interposed between these arms 'and the adjacent end of the casing 16.

The air-brake mechanism of a locomotive is adapted to be provided with a valve 25, having a stem 26 extending downward therefrom. AWhen the tongues 1 Vare shiftedby the rod 4 and its arm 5; so as to open theswitch, the bar 12 will be moved therewithv and cause gear 9 to Vpartly rotate, thereby drawing cables 15 longitudinally. This movement of the cables will be snfcient to direct the plunger 21 toward the railway-track, and springs 24 will, as is obvious, be compressed by the arms 23. lfVhen the locomotive arrives in position opposite the plunger 21, the stem 26, before referred to, will be brought into contact with plunger 21 and will be shifted so asto cause the air-brakes to be applied. The locomotive will therefore be brought to a complete or partial stop before reaching the switch. As soon as the tongues 1 are thrown back into their normal position,

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so as t'o close the switch, the rod l2 will be moved therewith and will unwind the cables 15 from drum 13, and springs 24 will return the plunger 2l and its arm to normal position. Vhen the parts are located in these positions, it will be seen that the brakes of a locomotive upon its arrival opposite the plunger 2l will not be applied, as said plunger will be out of the path of the stem 26. While the device herein described is especially adapted for use in connection with switches, it will be understood that the same can be used equally as well upon drawbridges and from signal-towers. A hinge 27 may be arrangedl in the valve-stein so as to permit said stem to be raised by means of a rod 28, extending upward to a point within convenient reach of the engineer on the locomotive. A spring 29 is employed for holding the stem normallyin position in the path of the plunger, and said stem is only raised when it is desired to pass over the plunger Without operating the airbrakes. As soon as the rod is released it is obvious that the spring 29 will return the stem to normal position.

ln the foregoing description we have shown the preferred form of our invention; but we do not limit ourselves thereto, as we are aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and we therefore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of our invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isl. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a revoluble drum, an operating-bar connected to the drum and switch-tongue,a plunger,and means connecting the plunger and drum whereby longitudinal movement may be imparted to the plunger by the rotation of the drum.

2. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a bar connected to the tongue, a drum adapted to be rotated by the bar and plunger, an operating-lever connected to the plunger, and means connecting said lever anddrum whereby longitudinal movement is imparted to the plunger by the rotation of the drum.

3. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a bar connected to the tongue, a drum adapted to be rotated by the bar, a plunger, a lever adjacent to and adapted to operate the plunger, and a flexible connection between the lever and the drum.

4. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a bar connected to the tongue and having teeth thereon, a gear meshing with said teeth, a drum revoluble with the gear,'a plunger, a lever for imparting longitudinal movement to the plunger, and a exible connection between said lever and the drum.

5. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a bar connected to and movable with the tongue, a rack integral with the bar, a gear meshing with the rack, a drum revoluble with the gear, a plunger, a rack thereon, a toothed lever meshing with the rack, and a flexible connection between the lever and drum.

6. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a bar connected to and adapted to move with the tongue, a rack integral with the bar, a gear meshing with the rack, a drum revoluble with the gear, a spring-pressed plunger, racks thereon, toothed levers meshing with .the racks, and flexible connections between the levers and the drum.

7. The combination with a switch-tongue, and means for operating the same; of a bar connected to and movable with the tongue, a rack integral with the bar, a gear meshing therewith, a drum revoluble with the gear, a plunger, spring-pressed arms thereon, racks upon the plunger, toothed levers meshing with the rack, and exible connections between the levers and drum.

8. The combination with a switch-tongue,

`spring-pressed plunger, racksthereomtoothed :levers meshing with the rack, and means operated by the gear for swinging the levers l'u'pon their fulcrums and imparting longitudinal movement to the plungers.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ZACHARIAH L. TRAINI-IAM. HARRY E. EASTMAN. Witnesses:

ALBERT G. ANTHONY, JOSEPH H. MALLORY.

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